Improved g-ear-ctttting- machine



W. SELLERS. GEAR CUTTING MACHINE.

No. 99,356. I Patented Feb. 1, 1870.

ms NORRIS PETERS sq. morouwu, WASHINGTON, D, c.

WILLIAM SELLERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 99,356, dated February 1, 1870.

IMPROVED GEAR-CUTTING- MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, \VILLIAM SELLERS, of thecity of Philadelphia, and; State of Pennsylvania, have in vented certainnew and useful Improvements in Gear Cutting Machines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full and exact description of theconstruc-' 'tion and ope-ration of-lfiiie' same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, and to the figures and letters of reference markedthereon.

In all gear-cutting machineshaving a revolving cut ter, thecutter-spindle is carried by a sliding head or saddle, feeding therevolving cutter up to its work inthe required direction, and theslide,which carries this cutter-head, is adjustable about an axis, inorder to .adjnst it to the varying angles of wheels to be cut,

and a means is also provided for adjustment of the;

'cutt'enspindle, so that the teeth may either be out,

parallel with the axis of -the wheel, as in ordinary' spur-orbevel-wheels, or obliquely to the axis, as re-' quired for worm-wheels.

The driving-power is conducted to the cutter-spin die by a' belt, whichmust be capable of adapting it-" 1 self to the constantly-varyingposition of the cutterhead, and yet always retain the required uniformtension.

In gear-cutting machines of ordinary construction, this end isaccomplished by the use of an intervening swim-frame which is se )aratefrom the machine and r O 7 7 suspended, so as to permit its countershaftto yield in such a direction to the sliding cutter-head as will maintainthe driving-belt at the proper tension for its work.

This tension is obtained by means of counterweights,

ter may be transmitted through the axes about which i the variousadjustments are made, and with such arrangement. I combine, within themachine itself, all

the elements required for supplying a uniform driving power from anordinary line or cuuntershaft, without the use of an intervening andseparate swing-frame.

To this end, I make the slide, upon which the cutterhead traverses,adjustable about an axis, as in other machines. This "axis I make alsoadjustable parallel to the axis of the wheel to be out. In addition tothese, I provide an adjustment for the cutter-spindle around an axis, atright angles to its own axis, and through .the axes, about which thesaid adjustments of the slide and cutter-spindle are made, I so conductthe power to drive the cuttenthat the functions of this drivingmechauismshall remain the same in all positions of the slide and cutter-spindlearound their axes, and

during the constantly-varying positions of the cutterhead upon theslide.

- In the machine hereafter fully described, the stand carrying the'sliding cutter-head is provided with an upwardly-extending column, whichis made adjustable in its base, so as to turn on its axis, for the.purpose of adjusting the line of motion of the cutter-head to suitwheels of any angle. On the top of this column I provide a shorthorizontal countershaft, which has its hearings on a plate or cap,fitted to the top of the column, in such a manner that it also may beturned on the vertical axis of the post. The driving power is conductedfrom the above countershaft through the vertical axis of motion to theupper cone-pulley of the machine, by means of two pairs of bevel-wheels,the action of which remains the same at all positions of the cap aroundthe axis of the column; and it thus follows, that no matter what therequisite position of the column around its vertical axis may be, itscap may always remain so adjusted as to keep its countershaft,

and driving-pulley parallel with the fixed line shaft from which thepower is taken. From the upper conepulley, a belt passes over twocarrying-pulleys to the lower or traversing cone-pulley on the slidinghead, which carries the cutter. And a feature of importance in myinvention consistsin the arrangement of these carrying-pulleys withreference to the cone-pulleys, whereby the driving side of the belt ispassed over a carrying-pulley, having its axis fixed, whilst the slackside of the belt passes over a carrying-pulley which has its axismovable, so that the counterweight required to maintain the tension, isonly that required for the slack side of the belt, whilst in all othermachines, a weight that will counterbalance the tension of the drivingside is required in addition.

In order that my saidlinvention may be fully understood, I will .nowproceed more particularly to describe the same.

On reference to the drawing, making part of this specification, and inwhich similar letters of reference allude to like parts in the severalviews Figure l is a front elevation of, my improved gearcutting machine;

Fignre2 is a side elevation Figure 3 is a plan of the lower part ofcolumn sliding cutter-head and dividing-head; and

I Figure 4 is a plan of the driving-arrangement on top of the column. v

A is the stand, carrying the sliding cutter-head B on alaterally-extending arm, 0. This stand A extends upward in the form of acolumn, and is adjustable around its vertical axis on a. saddle-plate,D, which is so fit'ted to one of the arms of an L-shaped bed, E, as topermit any required adjustment within the limits of this portion of thebed, which stands parallel to the axis of the wheel to be cut;,the standF, for carrying thelatter, being supported on the other extension of bedE, on which it also has a longitudinal adjustment, so as to adapt itsposition to the various diameters of wheels to be cut.

In the drawing, this stand is represented as carrying the wheel G to becut, on a spindle, which, at its rear end, is fitted with a perforateddividing-plate, H, I and pin H, for making the division, determining therequired number of teeth to be cut around the circumference of thewheel. In place of this arrangement, any other of the well-knowndividing mechanism, such as a worm-wheel and worm or system ofchange-wheels may be substituted.

. The radial adjustment of the stand A around its vertical axis,combined with the lengthwise adjustment on its portion of the bed,permits the sliding cutterhead B to be moved at any angle to the axis ofthe wheel, so that wheels of any description, from a spur to the acutestbevel, may be cut.

The driving-mechanism for conducting the power to the cutter is arrangedin the following manner:

To the'top of the column A is fitted a circular capplate, I, secured tothe top flange of the column by bolts jj, but so arranged, that it maybe turned into any position around the axis of the column. his capcarries, in bearings K K, a horizontal shaft, L, which may receivemotion from any convenient counter or line-shaft, by means of a beltrunning on its pulley M. This motion is transmitted to the uppercone-pulley N at the side of post A, by means of a short lllilBIlIlfidl?ate shaft, 0, and two pairs of bevel-wheels, P I and Q Q. The verticalbevel-wheel shaft 0 has a bearing in the cap-plate I, the axis ofrotation coinciding with that of the cap-plate I and of column A.

By t-h us transmitting the'drivin g power through the axis about whichthe various adjustments are made, the column A may, without disturbingthe action of the intermediate driving-gear, be placed in any requiredposition around its axis, or relative to its capplate I, which alwaysremains so adjusted as to keep the horizontal driving-shaft L inparallel line with the shaft from which the power is taken.

The manner of transmitting this driving power from the upper cone-pulleyN to the cutter-spindle R is best 'understood on reference to figs. 1and 2 of the draw- 'ing. The outter-spindleR is held in bearingsa and b,and driven by means of bevels c and d, from a shaft, e, which, at itsrear end, carries the'lower or traversing cone-pulley S, and around theaxis of which the plate T, carrying the spindle bearings a and b, has aA limited adjustment, for varying the position of the spindle relativeto its line of motion in cutting.

it is the driving-belt, which, to conduct the driving power to thecutter-spindle in the proper direct-ion, must run in the directionindicated by the arrows, fig. 1. This-driving-belt passes over twocarrying-pulleys, U and V, one of which, U, carries the driving side ofthe belt, and revolves on a fixed shaft, supported by an arm, 1',extending from the side of the column A, while the othercarrying-pulley, V, carries the slack side of the belt, and is suspendedat one end of a movable frame, composed of two curved levers, J J, whichvibrate around the axis of the upper cone-pulley shaft 12, and carry atthe other end the counterweight X. This weight is only required heavyenough to maintain sutlicient tension for the slack side of belt, thereproduced by its frictionalcontact with the fixed carry- It will now beevident, that by means of the swinging carrying-pulleyV andcounterweight X, the driving-belt will adapt itself to theconstantly-varying positions of the sliding cutter-head, and alwaysretain the required uniform tension.

Having thus described the nature and object of my improvements,

by Letters Patent, is- 1. The combination of the adjustable column A,adjustable shaft L, and adjustable plate T, arranged with the column Acan be adjusted laterally and about its the axis of the column, and thepower to drive the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the driving cone-pulley and traversingcone-pulley, the use of two carrying-pulleys, one having a fixed, andthe other a movable bearing, Weighted at the end, and carrying,respectively, the driving andslack side of' the belt, in the mannerandfor the purpose set forth.

- WM. SELLERS.

Witnesses Annw. J. Boswnnn,

Jns. H. SCHWAOK. v

quired tension for the driving side of the belt being ing-pulley U, overwhich it passes at an acute angle.

/V hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure 5 reference to eachother, to the arm 0, and to the sub; sidiary mechanism, substantially asdescribed, so that the direction of the axis of the shaft L being fixed,

own axis, and the plate 'I. be adjusted laterally and I about an axisperpendicular to a plane passing through cutter be transmitted throughthe axes about which the adjustments are made, substantially as and forthe

